Not Here

by ulcuran

Not there

After Luna had lowered the moon and let her sister raise the sun, she was going to have breakfast with her sister as usual. Walking through the halls of the castle some of the servants looked at her with eyes filled with fear when they saw her, she couldn’t blame them, Nightmare Moon was still fresh on their minds so it was expected, she understood that they needed time to get used to her, though that didn’t make her any less upset when she could not even talk to a maid without them being in a catatonic state.

But, she didn’t notice those gazes today because she just made her first proper friend! Sure, Twilight had helped on Nightmare Night but they did not interact much after that.

Their introduction could have been a bit more civil, with her threatening the dungeons she was sure that he would have cowed and begged for mercy and he did look like he was going to just do that. Much to Luna’s surprise he just snapped and started screaming which prompted her mind to fumble and when he lowered his neck she became even more confused.

Asking him what he was doing proved her suspicions correct, he was asking for death. She had heard from her sister the mysterious pony who barged into her room and had thrown themselves under her bed without realizing the princess on the other side of the room prompting her sister to enter without much delay and ask where he was. After he was pulled away from under the bed her sister left with him. She tried to continue her day as usual but her mind seemed stuck in that strange encounter. She decided to ask her sister what had happened, it seemed like a lot had happened.

The pony did actually cause quite the commotion in the castle, crashing through one of the mosaic glass of the throne room on Twilight’s ballon no less, and even trying to jump out of the window when her sister dragged him to the clinic trying to help him with the injuries he sustained during the crash. Sister told her that he was not willing to be treated but her sister insisted which prompted his many escape attempts one them in her own room.

The fall would no doubt cause his death but thankfully it seems her sister jumped after him and saved him, Prompting the ever-caring Celestia to put him under protective care effective immediately even if he caused so much chaos in one day. So she was quite intrigued by this weird pony.

Celestia had told her where she placed him and told her to just let him rest, at first Luna did try to leave him be but her curiosity got the better of her so she went to take a quick look, it was late at night so she was sure that he was sleeping. She was surprised to see him on the balcony watching he-... the moon so she decided to talk to him.

She learned that her sister put up quite a strong barrier around the balcony, of course she would, her sister didn’t want him to cause himself any more injuries, his forehead was wrapped in bandages, and some other parts of his body too.

Learning that he wasn’t going to jump again, even if he did Luna was there but he could not even jump with the barrier, she asked him what he was doing at this late hour, which prompted their fight.

When he was asking for his neck to be cut down she could not believe the words coming out of his mouth while never breaking eye contact with her… At that moment she finally got a closer look at his face, he was as generic as a pony could be his eyes were the usual big pony eyes with a vibrant gray but his ones were drooping and had many bags under them, and his mouth was the simple small mouth of the ponies but his corners of the mouth were drooping and his lips were quite chapped.

Looking at his exhausted yet still angry and defiant eyes, in their gray, she saw… she saw a part of her moon, her oh so beautiful moon… She was back on the moon wandering its ash-colored and lifeless but still bewitching desert, watching the stars… blinking she was back in the room, not there…

Calming herself with a deep breath she gazed into his eyes again she saw something else it was fear, it was small so small that she almost missed it, in his fiery and tired eyes there was a tiny amount of fear. But still, through that fear, he still wanted, nay! demanded her to strike him down. Of course, she wasn’t going to do that but she had to ask him why.

‘’Why were you watching our moon?’’

She heard the words that made her so happy and even embarrassed.

‘’It’s not your moon! The moon is no one’s! Anyone who claims that it is theirs then they have an ego the size of the moon itself!’’

He claimed that she did not own the moon and no one could and should not claim the moon, basically implying that the moon is not something that can be owned, that made Luna strangely enough happy? Even she cannot explain why it made her so.

Processing what happened she was surprised to hear him speak, he asked if he had to answer, well he didn’t have to but that would leave Luna quite disappointed she just wanted to know the reason but much to her delight he did answer and she could not have asked for a better answer.

He was fascinated by the moon, saying that it was the only beautiful thing he had seen in a while even talked about getting on a caravan of rockets and exploring the stars and leaving footprints on the dusty path to the planets, she, admittedly didn’t not understand the part about caravan of rockets, what was even a rocket? She did however understand what he wanted, he wanted to explore the vast space traveling from star to star… if he was fascinated by the moon then she was now fascinated by him… Barely holding herself from taking him with her magic and flying into the starry night getting him as close as she was able to the stars, she makes her way into his room.

She did not expect his room to be this empty, she had seen one of the guest rooms before and they were a lot more… furnished! Yes, furnished. She asked him why and it looked like her sister didn’t want him to find any kind of way to hurt himself, so she removed any kind of possibly dangerous objects.

Luna decides that she should really leave him alone and let him rest so she makes her way back to the balcony but she can’t just bring herself to leave she wants to talk to him more and learn more about him, but she doesn’t want him to exhaust to himself even more so she compromises.

Sitting on the floor of the balcony she invites him to watch the stars together. That should be alright right? She turns towards the sky and starts watching and…Huzzah! Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him sit beside her and join her. She discreetly looks over to him and sees that his eyes have relaxed like all the exhaustion they have carried has been whisked away to the sky he is currently watching.

Her backside did get a little sore from sitting on the bare stone of the balcony. An idea comes to her mind, and with magic she levitates his backside a little to the up, he almost immediately gets panicked so she reassures him pulls a pillow under him, and sets him down as quickly as he got up, she does the same to herself and sits on the pillow. They are doing wonders and it seems he is thinking the same thing his body becomes looser not much but still better than how rigid it was before.

He looks right ahead and she follows to see what he is looking ahead. Oh… oh, he really did that huh? She didn’t see what actually happened in the throne room but the image alone provides many answers. The thought causes her to giggle a little and she can’t help but tease him about it.

They start talking, she even pokes him on the nose with her wing when he calls the ‘beast’ handsome, she does not deny him though. She realizes that she doesn’t even know his name and he, hers, so she uses the opportunity to ask for his name his body freezes up and he becomes uncomfortable, she regrets asking for it but nevertheless he brings up a hoove and answers.

‘’Laika.’’ Yeah, that’s a fake name if Luna ever heard one but that’s okay she will learn his real one in due time.

‘’Luna.’’ They shake hooves and she asks him the meaning of his name and he tells her that maybe he will tell her later, he did not deny her so that is a plus in her scroll.

She notices that he is shivering she does not know what to do this time, well, she can use her wing but that would be extremely embarrassing… maybe the blanket from the bed? Shaking her head she bites her cheek and drapes a wing over Laika. He tries to say something, oh no! Did she make him uncomfortable? Agh! She should have just used the blanket! What was she thinking?

After asking him if he is uncomfortable she is relieved to hear that he is actually the exact opposite, he buries himself deeper in her wings which makes her even more embarrassed over the whole thing, but she still enjoying herself. After a few minutes, she sneaks a peek, and… he is smiling? Oh, she finally made him smile and now she can see how soft his smile is.

Hours feel like seconds to her but all good things must come to an end and she realizes that it is almost time to lower the moon. She almost didn’t let her wing go but she had a duty that she had to follow so she reluctantly pulled her wing back.
Assuring him that he will not be sent to the dungeons by her or her sister she prepares to take off the balcony but the sound of his voice stops her.

He thanked her, oh moon, he thanked her. Does this mean that they are now friends? She hopes so, hugging him one final time she says that it is what friends do and he replies in kind. Bidding a quick goodbye she flies away to lower the moon.

But she made her first actual friend this night! Thinking about it she feels even more giddy humming a little tune on her way to her post, some servants who got up seem quite confused about her behavior this is the first time they have seen the princess this happy ever since she returned with her sister all those months ago.

Luna might have missed her time by about fourteen minutes she hopes that no one can notice it, she lowers the moon hurriedly and makes her way to have breakfast with her siste- oh! She is already here, Luna just can’t wait to tell her sister all about her new friend!

Almost kicking the door she enters the room seeing that her sister is drinking tea she gets near her and speaks to her.

‘’Sister we have made a new friend!’’ She hugs her sister which surprises her a little.

‘’Oh, I’m so happy for you sister and who is this pony?’’ When Luna lets go of the hug her sister begins to take a sip of her tea.

‘’The pony who crashed into our window just yesterday sister!’’ Her sister spits out all of the tea in her mouth onto her face.

Oh, she was drinking lavender tea.

Comments

[GlitchyFox]

Oh, she was drinking lavender tea.

*gasp* an indirect kiss! so scandelus.

[f0st3r21]

“Mine Sister, Our comraderie hast doubled! We art favorable to the vagabond Thou hast captured for desecrating Thy halls and casting himself upon the winds of the world. And such a vagrant he. We wish to heal the wounds of his soul. Per chance, wouldst Thou be amicable to an exchange of prisoners? We hast captured Thy pantry… Sister, is this a new technique for to drink? Methinks Thou doest it wrong, but We shalt give it a chance... *spits tea at someprincess* Nay, We prefer it to go down than out. What sayest Thou of Mine proposition?” lol

[ulcuran]

11768415
Woah, it feels like we are back in ye olde equestria. Luna still doesn’t understand the customs of these times, why would any pony spit their drink upon someones face?

[Luckyfanisaac]

‘’The pony who crashed into our window just yesterday sister!’’ Her sister spits out all of the tea in her mouth onto her face.

Oh, she was drinking lavender tea.